Saturday, January 11, 2014

Sales v critics v fans 3.3: Fans top 100 albums of all time - years

Here's the chart for the fans top 100 albums of all time. (Click to enlarge.)

The structure is similar to the critics chart - but even more concentrated in the golden era. In the critics chart 1968 and 1971 were the biggest years with 6 entries each. Those are also big years for the fans with 7 and 8 entries respectively. But the biggest year is 1969 - with 10 entries!

Rank

Artist

Album

5

The Beatles

Abbey Road

7

King Crimson

In the Court of the Crimson King

40

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

44

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin II

51

The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground

60

Miles Davis

In a Silent Way

67

The Rolling Stones

Let It Bleed

74

Nick Drake

Five Leaves Left

81

Neil Young

Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere

84

Frank Zappa

Hot Rats

This is by far the oldest chart - the median release date is 1971! (vs 1977 for the critics and 1987 for sales)

There are only 4 entries from 2000 and beyond - two of them belonging to Radiohead. The latest entry is In Rainbows in 2007. No Adele.

On the face of it, this could suggest the fans on RYM are older and more conservative than the critics or the record buying public. But that theory is shot down when you look at the charts for recent years on RYM. The preponderance of death metal, speed metal, shoegaze, etc suggests this is not an old audience. Maybe the oldies on RYM just outnumber the youngsters - so the old stuff tends to get more votes than the new stuff? But then how to explain the popularity of Radiohead? Maybe Radiohead just has the greatness to cross demographic boundaries and appeals to the oldies as well as the kids. Maybe they don't make 'em like they used to, but Radiohead is a rare exception - a genuinely great band that will stand the test of time.